Runaway Love
by escape-reader.13
Summary: Based off the song Runaway Love by Ludacris & Mary J Blige. While on the run, Rose and Lissa come face-to-face with hard times more times than they wished. And every time they would find a shelter for runaway girls to stay in. At each shelter held their own stories tore at their hearts, and opened their eyes to a different reality of the world. These are those stories….
1. New York

**A/N: So this is a one-shot broken into three (maybe four) parts. Hope you enjoy (well...it's kinda sad so...enjoy is used lightly)...and don't forget to leave a review!**_**  
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_**New York**_

"Rose, how much longer until we can take a rest?"

"We're almost there, Liss. It's like another block or two away."

"You've been saying that for the last four blocks," Lissa mumbled before hesitantly continuing. "Rose...I'm hungry."

"They'll have food there, I promise. We'll make it before dinner ends."

"No Rose..._hungry_," emphasize the blonde. The brunette's steps faltered as realization hit, but when they continued they had a new sense of determination in them.

* * *

_A block or two later…_

"How can I help you girls?" asked the lady behind the reception desks.

"Um...do you have any um...rooms left? Or a bed?" Rose asked, unsure of what the right phrasing was since this was their first time.

_Rose what if they don't have any left?_ Lissa asked in her mind. They had discovered a while ago that Rose could read Lissa's thoughts, feel her emotions when they were heightened, but Lissa couldn't read Rose's mind.

Rose shot her best friend a sympathetic look that also told her that everything was going to be ok.

"We do have a room left, but it only has one bed and it's a twin."

"That's fine," Rose said, relieved at their stroke of luck. "We'll take it."

"Ok then. Sign in here and go to the kitchen, they might still have dinner out. If not there is someone there packing things up so you can ask if they have anything left."

"Ok thanks." The lady gave them a map and explained the rules of the shelter. It's only for one night, the showers have a timer, and even though they have the room to themselves, the doors are to remain unlocked and there is always the possibility of room changing.

As they walked to the kitchen they stopped at their room and closed the door. Rose sat on the bed and swept her hair to one side and craned her head to expose her neck better. Lissa sat down next to her. She barred her fangs and leaned in, her teeth piercing Rose's soft neck and releasing the high-inducing endorphins while Lissa fed enough to last another three days but not too much to risk Rose's health. When she was finished she laid Rose down and went to the kitchen to get food. Even though it was only six, the kitchen had in fact finished serving dinner but still had some out. Lissa was able to get enough for her and Rose without getting a plate that looked too big for her. As she walked back to the room one she overheard some girls talking about a movie night going on in a few hours. _Hopefully Rose is awake enough so we can join_, she thought as she realized how long it's been since they've had a fun night.

They've been on the run for a month. Before they broke out of the academy, they had transferred Lissa's money to a different account so no one would notice when they withdrew from it. When they left, they had taken out a few thousand so they could grab flight tickets for New York. When they got to NYC, they came across an elderly couple that lived alone in a house with an extra room. Lissa compelled them to never enter that room and until today they had lived there, going to the local high school (where they had compelled administration to let them enroll). However, this afternoon when they were walking back to their room they noticed a car in the driveway and when they peeked inside they noticed the couple's child had come over, luggages were by the door. After rushingly gathering their few belongings, they realized they didn't have enough money to get a plane or train ride to another destination, so they decided to stay the night at Lost Girls Shelter for Teenage Girls, figure out where they want to go next, and go to the bank tomorrow to get the money they needed.

* * *

When Rose woke up, she was starving and ate most of the food that Lissa brought. At the mention of movie night, her mood perked up and agreed to go. But first thing first, where were they going to fly off to next?

California was Rose's vote while Maine was Lissa's. Neither would chose anything in the middle, Lissa suggested Washington next and Rose suggested Georgia. They made up their minds. Maine, then Georgia, and then California, and then Washington. Deciding to only take out five hundred dollars, the girls freshened up a bit and left to go watch whatever movie was on.

Out of movies like the enchanting Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe, the twistingly comedic Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, the action packed Fantastic four, and suspenseful House of Wax, the movie that won was the goofy classic Clueless. Nothing can beat Cher and her friends and their funny high school adventures. After a night of laughs and recites, the shelter had some late night snacks out for the girls. After grabbing some cookies and milk, Rose and Lissa started talking with some girls, one girl left a mark.

* * *

"Cute shoes! Where did you get them," said this short, blonde girl. She looked like she was somewhere about 10 years old. She had this haunted look in her eyes, like she was afraid of something. Her cheeks gaunt, that once were full with smiles and joy, now took in amazement Lissa's glittery flats, a keepsake from her time at the Academy since they were the pair of shoes she had on the night they left but were in a condition that they still looked good as new

"Umm actually I don't know," Lissa said. "They were a gift actually."

"Oh," said the little girl, extending her hand as she introduced herself. "I'm Lita by the way."

"Lissa," she said with a small laugh. "And this is my best friend Rose." Rose extended her hand with a smile. Both friends couldn't help but realize that this poor little girl looked like an unnurture version of Lissa, with darker hair and a loss of innocence Lissa had only recently departed with as well, and it tugged their hearts to see her in this shelter.

"How old are you?" Rose asked, wondering why she was here.

"12…"

"12?! Why aren't you home?" Lissa asked, appalled.

"This is my home," Lita said, looking down as the pain crept back in her. It's been a year since she left but the pain hurts just as much as it did when she left. Lissa and Rose took her into their room for privacy as she told them her story. "My dad left before I was born….and my mom...my mom was used drugs. All I can remember is that she was never home, when she wasn't working I assume she was off at some crack house. I remember feeling like there was a part of me that I didn't know about, like there was something to me that I had yet to discover. I still feel that way, but I've learned to deal with and to do things to define myself how I want to be known as, makes sense?" She pauses as Rose and Lissa nod their heads. "I don't know which I prefer though, here getting high out of house or in the kitchen. I mean, why would you do that in front of your child? Just thinking about it makes me shiver. But the worst part were her 'boyfriends' they always would come in laughing, looking like a drugged up happy couple. I'd stay in my room, doing homework or just drawing, anything really to keep myself busy. And then I would hear shouting, and then footsteps, and then my door would open. I would try to fight him off, but he would just beat me. I would call out to my mom and say 'ouch'….but no one would come and so I would just turn and look at my wall and try not to think about it." Lissa and Rose gasped when they understood what she meant.

"Where was your mom?" Rose asked, sensing how uncomfortable Lissa was to ask herself.

"Knocked out on the couch," Lita said, the hurt and blame evident in her voice. "When he would leave and my mom would wake up, I tried to telling her but she wouldn't listen. She wouldn't believe me, or worse she'd blame me, saying I'm trying to take away her happiness." The tears streaming down her face as she continued. "I felt so alone, my mom left me to face the world on my own. My home was really a living hell, I couldn't stay there. So…one of the days she was gone, I grabbed my clothes and packed. I ran away and never looked up."

"Oh my god," Rose said in disbelief.

"I'm so sorry," Lissa said, pulling her into a hug.

With a small smile, Lita waved it off. "It's been 3 years, and every time I share my story it hurts like when I lived it, but afterwards I feel better because I got out of there. I may not live in better home, but I'm around people that can relate to me and that take care of me, I'm happy and I'm in a healthy, loving environment. It's everything my old house wasn't." Lissa and Rose nod their heads in understanding. "So what brings you guys here?"

Lissa looks down at her hands, slightly ashamed for what led them here, while Rose fidgets in uncomfortableness. "Lissa's _different_ from our peers and we're scared of what happens if they found out, so we ran away from our boarding school. Lissa's parents died and I never met my dad and my mom's never around. We came to New York and came here for the night until we can find a way to get to Maine." Rose says, being evasive with the situation.

"Oh," Lita said, her lips forming the "o" shape for emphasis. "Well you should see if they have a Lost Girls in Maine. Oh! Write to me, I'll still be here." She genuinely smiled at them.

"We'll do that," Rose said with a chuckle. Lita then got up and bade the girls good night, wishing them a safe trip and the three girls promising to keep in touch.

* * *

"Rose…"

"Lissa, Don't go there. We did what we had to do to keep you safe, just like Lita did what she had to do to safe herself."

"But Rose, we don't even know for sure how the academy would have reacted. Maybe they would have found a way to work with my abilities."

"No Lissa. They would have sent you to a psych ward or used you like a lab rat. I'm your Guardian and I did what I thought - and still think - is in your best interest."

"Can we…" Lissa began as she and Rose go into bed.

"No! No. Way. Look, I get it, you feel bad for her. But we can't take her with us while we're on the run. It's too risky. Plus, you heard her, she's made a home here, we can't take her away from that. Liss," Rose said cutting off her best friends thoughts. "Get some rest. Tomorrow we'll go to the bank and head off to Maine. We'll send Lita a postcard or something."

"Fine. Maybe we can ask if there is a Lost Girls in Maine before we leave, it felt nice not having to compel our way into here."

"I know. We will. Goodnight, Lissa."

"Good night, Rose."

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**A/N: up next...MAINE! Let's see who they run into there, and what their story is... ciao!**


	2. Maine

**A/N: Good morning/afternoon/evening! Sorry it took me so long to post the next chapter (the fact that I can't remember off the top of my head when I posted the first chapter meant it was longer than a week which is too long). Either way, here is the second chapter (also the second to last chapter...maybe. I'm still deciding how long I want this to be or how else I could continue this) I hope you guys enjoy it...don't forget to review it! :)**

**Maine**

It's been a year since they left New York. A year since they've been in hiding. A year of peace. After they arrived to Maine, they didn't need to go to the Lost Girls in the area because Rose and Lissa found this little cottage that was up for foreclosure, so after a little trip to the bank, the papers of the house "disappeared" and now it basically didn't exist. After enrolling in the town's high school for the week coming up, they spent the rest of the week decorating their home. Mainly, giving it a much needed paint job and getting a few necessary furniture. Lissa did all of the shopping, while Rose went out to get them a job at the local diner and some school supplies. Now, a year later, Rose finally felt at rest that they might actually be able to live their life without having to look over their shoulders.

To celebrate their anniversary in their new house, the girls went out to watch a movie downtown. On the walk back, they let two cute twins from their class escort them home. In the midst of their joking, Lissa saw something.

_Rose, look at the bush,_ Lissa thought. Inauspiciously, Rose looked at the bush Lissa was talking about and faltered in her step. _Psi-hounds_. Rose shook her head, both denying the truth and getting herself into her guardian mode.

"Are you ok, Rose?" Jake asked, his slate-grey eyes looking into hers.

"Yea, just tripped over my own foot," she said with a small before shouting, "Last one there is a rotten egg!" Rose shouted as she started running home.

Even though she stopped her guardian training, she jogged in the morning to stay fit. So, when she went got home she went around the back and grabbed the gun she hid inside the chimney and put it inside her jeans, and then went to open the door with a smile. She laughed at the stunned faces of her classmates when they saw her open the door and the stern look Lissa gave her.

"So would you rotten eggs like to come in?" Rose asked with a wink.

"Nah, we should get home," Jack said, his royal blue eyes glancing at Lissa longingly while Jake looked at Rose the same way.

"Your loss," Rose said with a shrug of her shoulder as she pulled Lissa in and surveyed outside quickly. Once the boys left, she told Lissa to pack their backpacks and put everything they can sell in the living room. As she did that, Rose went outside and pricked her finger with a needle. After a minute, she saw the first hound emerge from the bushes. Without any hesitation, she pulled out the gun and shot it right in the head, and shot the other four that followed it's leader. Seeing no more coming out, she went back inside and helped Lissa move the furniture.

"Rose," Lissa whispered as they lay down for bed.

"I don't know Liss," Rose said, already hearing in her mind what her friend was going to say

The next morning, they called the furniture store to come and see if they could sell the items to them. While they waited for the employee to come and appraise their furniture, they went to the store with the extra clothes they didn't need and returned them after a little persuasion. When the furniture store consultant came to look at the sofa, bed, table, shelves, and other little things they had, he agreed to buy it from them. After he left, the girls counted their money and were relived to find they had just about as much money as they had come with (give or take a hundred or so), which meant they could go to Georgia without having to stop at the bank.

* * *

"I'm sorry girls but we don't have a single room available. We have a room with two beds but only one of them is free tonight."

"That's fine. We'll share it," Rose said.

"Tonight we have a cooking class after dinner. There's still room if you girls are interested."

"We'd love to!" said Lissa, while Rose groaned. After the lady wrote their names down, they went to their room, seeing their roommate already there.

"Hi!" she said, getting off her bed and going to shake the girls hands.

"Hey," they returned, introducing themselves after she introduced herself as Nicole.

"You have really pretty blonde hair," she told Lissa. "Can I braid it?"

"Sure, and I'll braid Rose's," Lissa said. Please Rose? It'll calm me down.

"Fine," Rose grunted, sitting on the floor in front of Lissa.

As Nicole braided Lissa's hair and Lissa braided Rose's hair, Lissa and Rose answered her questions about their adventure since running from the academy (skimming over anything that only moroi's and dhamphir's know about). When they were done, Rose and Lissa braided Nicole's hair. Rose asked what her story was, and it was far from a fairytale.

She grew up with low self-esteem, she thought she wasn't pretty and no one liked her. The reality was that her alcoholic step-dad would abuse her verbally and physically, yelling and striking her, leaving her with some bruises. When she would get to school, her teachers would take her outside to ask her and she would come up with excuses like "I ran into the door in a rush to leave" or whatever popped in her head that made some sort of sense. "Every time I lied, I would go to the bathroom because I felt like I was bleeding on the inside while I was crying in one of the stalls," she said, the tears tinkling down. But life wasn't so lonely, because her neighbor's daughter, Stacy, was also her best friend. She was the only girl that really knew what she was about, knew what was going on in her house and in her head. "We promised each other that we'd be always friends," she said. Until always ended too soon, when a drive-by bullet hit her Stacy in the heart. Now Nicole felt alone, truly alone. Without her best friend there to add a little ray of happiness to her life, home become hell on Earth. "I needed to get away before I ended up dead too. I had nothing else to do but pack my clothes and run away," she said. By now the girls had finished braiding, so she spun around and grabbed one of their arms with her hand. Pleading, she said, "You have to understand. If being at the wrong place at the wrong time didn't kill me like it did Stacy, my step dad's beating would have."

Releasing Nicole's grip on her arm, Lissa pulled her into a hug, saying, "I understand. We understand. But why didn't you tell your teacher your step father beat you like that?"

Nicole shook her head. She didn't really know why she never told anyone except for fear that she'd get hit more. Finally finding her voice, Rose asked how long ago this was. "Stacey died with I was 10, now I'm 13, so about 3 years. How long have you guys since you guys ran away?"

"A little over a year," Rose said.

"I wish I was lucky like you guys to have the money to be able to go anywhere I want to. Believe me, I wouldn't have stayed in Maine if it were up to me."

_Rose what if—_ the abrupt shake of Rose's head cut off Lissa's question. Clearing her throat, Rose looked at the clock in the room and said, "We should head to the dining hall now for the cooking class, Liss. Are you going too, Nicole?"

Nicole nodded her head and jumped off the bed, her preppy attitude back. The three girls walked to the kitchen, the gloom of the past staying behind in their room, gone into the abyss by the time they came back. Well, most of it. Lissa couldn't help but feel this unnerving sadness for all these hardships these girls seem to have to go through. Hardships that make them run away so they can be free to try to live a happy life. She couldn't help but wonder if her and Rose left the Academy for the right reason. Rose, inevitably, felt all of this, and without Lissa's influence her mind was wondering the same thing. Did she live up to her guardian duties by running away?

Neither of them addressed the elephant in the room during the next day, and eventually the elephant shrank as they got ready to live a new life in Georgia.

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**A/N: Well there you have it...gloomy I know, but I try to end it on a good note...or at least have the girls off to do something else...next chapter an interesting one to say the least. See ya next week :)**


	3. Washington

**A/N: Good morning/afternoon/evening! I'M SOOOOOO SORRY I DIDN'T UPDATE IN LIKE FOREVER! It's just with school and not having a life, I got stuck on how to write this but finally the writer's block exploded and I finished...again sorry! I hope you like it!**

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**Georgia**

"Rose, we need to move," Lissa said in a serious tone as she sat in the shaded part of the front porch. Today was sunny but not too sunny for Lissa, as long as she didn't step out of the shade, so they decided to enjoy it while sipping some iced tea. They've been in Georgia for a few months living in an abandoned house that was in good enough condition for live in. However, instead going to school, they worked full time. Rose knew this talk was bound to happen. Coming to Georgia was a long shot because of how much the sun affected Lissa, and moroi's in general, but part of her reasoned that if it was hard for Moroi's to live here, then it would be practically impossible for Strigoi's to live here too. Rose felt selfish for making Lissa move here, but she knew that she had to do what was in Lissa's best interest. She was her Guardian, and they come first.

Reclining back against the railing, Rose said in a dramatic tone, "Oh sun how I will miss thee. To exchange you for the rain and clouds will be the greatest injustice this world has seen."

Lissa laughed at Rose's theatrics, and shaking her head said, "Are you sure? We don't have to, I was just being overly serious to get you to talk about it."

"I know, Liss. I can read your mind remember? Either way, I knew it was only a matter of time before we left. So are you ready for Seattle?"

"I guess. Do you want to leave now or tomorrow?"

"Let's go back and get the first plane going that way. Let's use what we have left of our paychecks and then what we have from your side fund," Rose said as she finished the rest of her tea. Then her and Lissa went and packed a small backpack with their essentials.

* * *

**Washington**

By the time they landed in Seattle, it was starting to get dark, so they went to the local Lost Girls shelter that was only 20-30 minutes away. They were lucky and got one of the vacant rooms, although the lady at the front desk did tell them that there was a chance that someone might share the room with them. When they got to the room, Rose shut the door and then sat down the bed sweeping her hair to one side and exposing her hair to one side.

_Are you sure, Rose?_ Lissa thought and Rose just nodded her head. Lissa tried to fight the hunger, but soon enough her jade green eyes darkened with hunger and she soon sank her teeth into Rose's neck. Rose gasped in pain and released a moan of pleasure, the endorphins sending Rose off into her own clouded world. After taking her fill from Rose, Lissa laid her down and crawled into bed with her and soon both girls were fast asleep.

When Rose wake up she was looking straight into pitch black eyes that belonged to a small girl, no older than three, that had chocolate colored skin and her thick black hair braided. _Now why would a three year old run away from home?_ Rose thought. _Maybe she's one of the staff's daughter._

"Um h-hey sweetie," Rose said in a sugar sweet voice as quietly brought her legs up and over the bed, sitting up and lifting the girl onto her lap. "Are you lost? Where's your mommy?"

The little girl just put her thumb into her mouth and shook her head.

"Rose," Lissa said groggily. "Who are you taking to?" She rubbed the sleep off her eyes and gasped when she saw the girl on Rose's lap.

"Um, that's what I'm trying to figure out." Before they could interrogate the little girl even more, a girl that looked like a teenager and sagged in relief when she saw the toddler.

"Maya! You can't run off like that," she said as she picked up the little girl and gave Rose and Lissa an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry, I was signing us in and she just ran off."

"That's fine," Lissa said. "It must be tough taking care of your little sister."

The teenager looked at Lissa and Rose and then to Maya. "Oh she's not my sister. She's my daughter."

Rose and Lissa's jaw dropped and they looked at both girls, noting the similarities.

"But your barely a teenager!" Rose blurted.

"Yea, I had her when I was 11. I'm Erica, by the way," she said as she took a seat next to the girls. "I got into the wrong crowd at that age. I grew in a bad neighborhood, and nothing every went right home. Even on the hottest day of the year, home felt like the coldest place on Earth. I let the wrong people get close to me and next thing I knew I was popping pills to get rid of the pain. I was dating boys 5 years older than me and I never said no. So I lost my virginity at 11 years old to a guy that was 16, I thought I was in love with him and blindly trusted him when he said nothing will happen if we didn't use protection. Actually, I believed everything he said, I thought he loved me and that he would get me out of this hell hole. I wasn't thinking about consequences, I wasn't even think of myself, I wasn't thinking at all. I was all for live in the now and worry about tomorrow when it gets here. Next thing I know, my belly's getting big and the smallest whiff of something gets me sick. I take a test and find out I'm pregnant, when I go confront my boyfriend-" she made air quotes with her fingers when she said that last word. "-he bails out, saying he's not ready for a kid. He said that it wasn't his." Erica let out a sob, and Lissa scooted over and rubbed her back. Erica leaned her head onto Lissa's shoulder before continuing. "I knew I couldn't tell my mom. Oh my god if I told her she would blow a gasket and blow everything out of proportion. She wouldn't believe me if I told her I was in love with him, she would think I was selling my body to buy drugs or whatever else her twisted mind could think of. I didn't have the money to get an abortion. I've never felt so deserted, left to face the world on my own with someone growing inside me. I packed my clothes and left home and came here. They helped me with the pregnancy and gave me my own room to take care of her until she was a year old. This has been more of a home for Maya and me than my mother's place was." She wiped her nose and sat up, smoothing Maya's hair like it was her own soothing mechanism. "I'm sorry to dump that on you. I'm pretty sure my sob story is the last thing you guys wanted to hear."

"No it's fine," Lissa said. "It helps to let it out and tell someone. And sometimes the best thing to do is tell a complete stranger because you'll never see them again."

Rose said in her spot not saying anything, she didn't know what to say or do. Lissa was always the one better with being compassionate, and Rose only acted that way with Lissa. She was shocked with Maya left her mom's arms and crawled into Rose's. Although at first she was hesitant, after a few seconds she was holding the toddler and playing with her. Rose felt a smile form on her face and for first time in a long time she felt tranquil. Lissa saw this and while talking with Erica a smile formed on her face too.

After Erica and Lissa finished talking, everyone got up and went to breakfast, Maya still in Rose's arms playing with her long, brown, wavy hair.

* * *

**A/N: I felt like the girls needed to end with a smile today. Don't forget to leave a review! SO! As sad as I am to end, I knew this would be a short fanfiction, but next week I'll upload an epilogue to wrap everything up :D**


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